Saturday, January 14, 2017

4 PPC Tricks for E-Commerce Marketers

Author Bio: Ronald Dod is a partner and CEO of Visiture, LLC. After founding Grey Umbrella Marketing, an internet marketing agency which focuses on Search Engine Optimization for eCommerce businesses, he merged with Visiture to create a full service search marketing offering for eCommerce businesses. His passion is helping eCommerce business owners and marketing professionals navigate the search marketing landscape and use data to make more effective decisions to drive new traffic and conversions. He holds a Masters in the Science of Marketing from Florida State University and is certified in Google Adwords & Analytics.

If you’ve been involved with the PPC world, then you’re probably looking at the big picture and trying to drive conversion-worthy clicks in new and creative ways. But, when it comes to PPC, bigger isn’t always better. There are quick and easy methods right in front of you that can make a big impact on your PPC campaign by providing new solutions to old problems.

Getting the most from your dollar is critically important in today’s fast-paced internet arena because it allows you to get out in front of the competition and drive those conversion-worthy clicks your way, all while saving money.

PPC is at the forefront of any e-commerce marketer’s mind because it’s a relatively quick form of marketing that, once it’s initiated, can free your hands up to pursue other advertising options.

These tips will still help you discover ways to get your product in front of consumers exactly when they’re looking for it, but at the same time provide you with cost-effective, easy to implement solutions to your advertising needs.

Model Number Campaigns

Underperforming Keywords

Ad Groups

Pricing in Ads

Let’s face it, in today’s e-commerce market, the way people shop is vastly different than what it was even 5 years ago. There’s a vendor for every type of goods imaginable, and all a consumer needs to do is a little research, figure out what they want, and then find a good price.

The general PPC keywords will always have higher search volumes, but they are more expensive, and the field is super competitive. One way to distance yourself from the pack and get your product in front of your consumers is to start a model number campaign that uses high precision, ultra-specific keywords.

If a potential buyer visits your site with little or no preexisting knowledge of your products, then they are going to shop around, research their needed product, and then go exploring for good prices with a quiver of information. Now, if a customer came to you with an exact model, parts number, UPC, etc., the chances of conversion with that person, who’s much further down the sales cycle, are greater if yours is the first store they find.

You’re definitely not going to see the same kind of traffic with a model number design because of its drilled-down nature, but customers do exist who know exactly what they want and just need to find out the easiest way to get it. The clicks are cheap and the conversions high, which both keep your CPA down. With a model number campaign, you can get the exact product a customer is looking for in front of them with one click.

As the competition grows for the top performing keywords so, too, does your pay per click spending, but is this uptick in price leading to conversions? The quickest way to stem the damage and free up ad budgets is to stop using keywords and placements that are underperforming. Eliminating the low performers will allow you to utilize and implement stronger, more efficient keywords.

To help determine just what keywords to use, first develop a budget of what you’re willing to spend per conversion. Then think about the desired outcomes, and consider why certain keywords aren’t working. The keywords you’re using that drive a huge amount of clicks but exceed your cost per conversion aren’t worth it; they limit your ad budget, cost you extra money, and take up valuable space. Limiting underperforming keywords is a surefire way to increase PPC success.

Ad groups are the foundation of your PPC campaign and having the right structure is crucial during development. Search engines consider your ad groups to see which keywords your ad will display, so, when curating your ad group, you’ll want to make sure you’re following good consistency and integration principles. Consistency and integration can help with page rank and allow you to get that much needed boost on SERPs. Confused about what consistency and integration are? Read below:

●Consistency - The message to consumers should directly reflect their search queries. If you’re running an e-commerce site, your ad groups may reflect a host of different products, so consistency can be tough to maintain. It might be a project that requires outsourcing to a Google-certified marketing agency.

●Integration - A system that moves together, stays together. If you’re consistently creating landing pages, ad groups, and keywords that are closely integrated, then you’ll have a much easier time making sure all the pieces are giving the same message.

With limited text space and increasing costs for PPC, all e-commerce marketers should be thinking about ways to qualify potential customers. Now, on the surface, this may seem a little mystical, because you can’t exactly ask those about to click on your link if they’re serious or have intent to buy.

What you can do is qualify them, when they see your ad, by including pricing. For example, if you can communicate to a person who’s only willing to spend $50 dollars that your products are higher-end—i.e., from $100 and above—the chances of them clicking your ad are pretty limited. This, in turn, saves your PPC cost and saves those clicks for more qualified buyers who know exactly what to expect in terms of pricing. This small change can mean more conversion for less money.

There you have it: four awesome tips for increased conversion, lower PPC costs, and better communication with customers, all of which are easy to understand and easy to implement. Not only can they help when thinking of new campaigns, but these tips are also great if you’re considering making a change to your existing ads and/or marketing.

So, go ahead. Test them out and check the results. They’re quick and easy, and might just save you a headache or two when it comes to thinking about the future of your PPC campaigns.